Lint nozzle



March 1961 A. ONE'AL ,973,559

LINT NOZZLE Filed Dec. 19, 1958 \ii -m M United States Patent LINT NOZZLE Andrew 1 eal, Glendale, Ariz., assignor to (Iommnnity Gin Company, Glendale, Ariz., a corporation of Arizona Filed Dec. 19, 1958, Ser. No. 781,529 2 Claims. (Cl. 19-50) This invention pertains to improvements in a lint nozzle for cotton gin and is particularly directed to an aspirating nozzle arrangement for efllciently removing the ginned cotton from the gin roll of a cotton gin.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a highly efficient pneumatic means for removing the ginned cotton from the gin roll of a cotton gin.

Another object of this invention is to provide an aspirating nozzle arrangement for energizing air to flow tangentially over a gin roll to remove the ginned cotton therefrom.

Still another object of this invention is to provide an improved lint nozzle for a cotton gin utilizing an aspirating action together with a streamlined form to cause an efiicient and effective air flow tangentially of the gin roll for removing the ginned cotton therefrom.

Further features and advantages of this invention will appear from a detailed description of the drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a general diagrammatic view of a cotton gin incorporating the features of this invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view particularly showing the lint nozzle apparatus applied to the gin of Fig. 1.

As an example of one embodiment of this invention, there is shown a cotton gin having a frame 10, the fixed knife 11, and the gin roll 12 and the usual vertically reciprocating knife 13 operating in conjunction with the fixed knife 11 and the gin roll 12. Cotton is fed to the gin knives 11 and 13 in the direction indicated by the arrow 14 by means of the feed grid 14a and the pusher 14b in the usual conventional manner for such cotton gins. The gin seed then falls down on the seed slide 14c where it passes through the usual reclaimer 14d, also in conventional practice for cotton gins of this type.

After the cotton has been ginned and the seed separated therefrom, it becomes entangled and caught on the surface of the gin roll 12 which is formed of a material suitable for catching the threads of cotton during the ginning process. One of the difficult problems in efiiciently ginning cotton is that of the prompt and thorough and efiicient removal of the lint cotton after it has been ginned from the surface of the gin roll 12. To this end, applicants invention has been particularly directed and the apparatus employed to accomplish this result comprises an aspirating nozzle having the main air pressure chamber 16, which nozzle is mounted underneath the main suction pipe 23 and provides a streamlined surface of airfoil cross-section 20 on the inside of this suction pipe or chamber 23. The gin roll 12 rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow 15 and there is provided a variable adjustable passageway at 24 formed by relatively positioning the upper portion 25 of the suction pipe 23 with regard to the periphery of the gin roll 12 as clearly shown in Fig. 2 at 24 by any suitable mechanism (not shown). The nozzle structure includes a vertically discharging slit 17 formed by the front plate 19 and the inside plate 19a of the air pressure chamber 16 so that when air pressure is applied in the air pressure chamber 16, a jet of air, under high velocity and pressure, is discharged in the direction indicated by arrow 19b to cause a tangential aspirating air flow 18 tanxentially between the gin r011 surface 12a and the streamice lined surface 20 of the air pressure chamber 16. Because of the particular tangential arrangement and positioning of the air discharge 1%, the combined aspirated air coming in at 18 and the air coming out of the nozzle between 19 and 19a from the slit 17 follows along the streamlined surface 20 because of its particular aerodynamic characteristics so as to provide a smooth freefiow of the cotton as it is removed from the gin roll surface in the aspirating area between 19 and the surface 12 of the gin roll. The thus removed cotton traveling along the streamlined surface 20 in the direction indicated by the arrow 21 engages the cotton coming down by rotation of the roll 12 at the point indicated by the arrow 22 and causes the cotton to be pulled from the roll and turned substantially at a right angle or nearly ninety degree direction at the point 22 which releases the cotton fibers from the rough surface of the roll 12 in a highly efficient manner and causes the cotton to travel then along the streamlined surface as indicated by the arrow 21 in Fig. 2. The usual lint flue may be connected to the suction pipe 23 for removal of the cotton from the gin for further processing. Suitable air pressure may be supplied to the pressure chamber 16 by any suitable conventional source as required.

While the apparatus herein disclosed and described constitutes a preferred form of the invention, it is also to be understood that the apparatus is capable of mechanical alteration without departing from the spirit of the invention and that such mechanized arrangement and commercial adaptation as fall within the scope of the appendent claims are intended to be included herein.

Having thus fully set forth and described this invention what is claimed and desired to be obtained by United States Letters Patent is:

1. In a cotton gin having a frame, a gin roll rotatably journaled on said frame, means for feeding seed cotton on to the surface of said gin roll, and a knife associated with the gin roll to separate the seed from said cotton leaving the ginned cotton adhering to said gin roll, a lint nozzle structure for removing the ginned cotton from the gin roll surface comprising a main air pressure chamber mounted on said frame having a streamlined airfoil cross-section including a convex leading edge projecting in the direction of and adjacent to said gin roll, a main suction chamber located above said main air pressure chamber having its lower surface defined by the convex top surface of said air foil to provide a streamlined bottom surface on the inside of said suction chamber, a nozzle outlet in the leading edge of said pressure chamber characterized by a vertically discharging slit arranged parallel to the axis of rotation of said gin roll discharging in a direction opposite to the peripheral direction of travel of said gin roll, the flat jet stream thus provided being radially spaced from contact with said roll periphery to cause an aspirated air flow tangentially over said gin roll from a position below the leading edge of said pressure chamber so as to strip ginned cotton from said roll and to cause said stripped cotton to be propelled along said streamlined bottom surface of said suction chamber for removal from the cotton gin.

2. In a cotton gin as set forth in claim 1 wherein a variable adjustable passageway is provided between the upper portion of said suction chamber and the top of said gin roll to regulate the flow of suction air over said roll in the direction of its peripheral rotation.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 897,883 Dickson Sept. 8, 1908 1,009,261 Prior Nov. 21, 1911 1,401,439 Pettit Dec. 27, 1921 2,639,467 Moseley "nun-"n. Jan. 10, 1949 

